Chantilly, Virginia -- Chief Richard Carrizzo, IAFC President and Chairman of the Board, has been named Vice-Chair of the Board of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority). Chief Carrizzo currently serves as the Fire Chief for the Southern Platte Fire Protection District (Missouri). He was first appointed to the FirstNet Authority Board in 2018 and has been instrumental in FirstNet Authority's successes in their outreach within the fire services and broader public safety community.
Board Chairman, Robert Osterthaler, said of Chief Carrizzo, "Chief Carrizzo is a national leader in the fire services with a record of advancing solutions to help keep America's first responders safe on the job, and I've had the honor of working closely with Chief Carrizzo for the last two years and am pleased that he has accepted the Vice-Chair position. We look forward to continuing to push FirstNet forward on behalf of public safety."
He sees regional collaboration as vital, and to that end, the Chief serves on the Mid-America Regional Council's (MARC) Public Safety Communications Board as one of two metro fire chief representatives coordinating and setting policy for the entire 9-1-1 system in the nine counties and 120 cities within the metropolitan, bi-state region of Kansas City. He also serves on the Regional Homeland Security Coordinating Committee (RHSCC) within MARC since 2002 as one of the fire representatives. He also serves on the Executive Policy Committee to set policy for the operations and future of RHSCC.
Chief Carrizzo, a 35-year veteran of the fire service, is active in local, state, and regional, national fire service professional organizations. "It is truly an honor to represent the public safety community as a member of the FirstNet Authority Board, and I'm pleased to be named as Vice-Chair," said Chief Carrizzo. "During my time on the Board, I've seen the FirstNet Authority's commitment to the first responder, making sure their voice is heard and their needs are addressed. I plan to continue that work in order to have a strong public safety broadband network.”
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About the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC): The IAFC represents the leadership of firefighters and emergency responders worldwide; our members are the world's leading experts in firefighting, emergency medical services, terrorism response, hazardous materials spills, natural disasters, search and rescue, and public safety policy. Our mission is to LEAD, SERVE, and EDUCATE. Download the PDF version of this press release here.